Hopi Religious Accommodation Claim Held to Be Moot

This week, an Arizona federal Magistrate Judge dismissed as moot an interesting religious accommodation claim by members of the Hopi Indian Tribe. Joshevama v. Office of Surface Mining, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34097 (D AZ, May 8, 2007), is apparently part of a larger conflict between traditional Hopis and the Hopi tribal government over proposals to operate and develop the Black Mesa coal mine. In the case, a group of traditional Hopis claimed that the federal government violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by setting the public comment period on a draft environmental impact statement for the Black Mesa Project to coincide with their winter religious ceremonial calendar. From November through February, traditional Hopis are prohibited from engaging in government or significant non-religious pursuits. However the court found that the Office of Surface Mining had subsequently extended the comment period through May 11.